Commentary: Kansas sexual predator law came with price

Kansas lawmakers have shown no enthusiasm for building a proposed $42.5 million, 90-bed expansion of the state's Sexual Predator Treatment Program at Larned State Hospital. And no wonder — with a $300 million-plus hole in the next state budget, spending even a dollar more on sex offenders seems like a really bad idea.

In an election year, it also would be politically awkward to slash state funding for public schools, social services and prisons yet build nice new digs for sexual predators.

The problem is that the Larned program — effective or not, budget shortfall or not — is the state's responsibility and cannot be neglected indefinitely without consequences.

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